Nissan projects an annual loss as it drops its talks with Japan rival Honda

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan’s April-December profit crashed to 5.1 billion yen ($33 million), a tiny fraction of the 325 billion yen the Japanese automaker earned the previous year.

Nine-month sales dropped less than 1% to 9.14 trillion yen ($59 billion). Nissan projected red ink of 80 billion yen ($519 million) for the full fiscal year through March.

Besides announcing the dismal results, Nissan Motor Corp. also announced Thursday it was dropping the talks it had started in December with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co. for a business integration.

Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida told reporters the focus of the talks had changed from forming a joint holding company to making Nissan into a subsidiary of Honda.

He said that was unacceptable, although the efforts to realize “synergies through a strategic partnership” on electric vehicles and other research will continue.

He said Nissan will try to achieve a turnaround without Honda, while being open to various options, and that a detailed plan will be outlined within a month. Nissan has said announced it will trim its operations, including closing lines, perhaps entire plants, while slashing 9,000 jobs.